Weekly WYSIWYG 1: R22 and the Amazing Enhanced Beamage

Editor’s note:  I’m going to be writing a weekly post on some attribute of WYSIWYG or news related to WYSIWYG in the coming year, maybe longer – but I haven’t set a specific day yet for the posts, so stay tuned.

I just bought a copy of WYSIWYG R22, and I discovered something very amazing when working on some pre-viz programming that blew me away:  atmospheric haze rendered in real time.  It’s the most awesome sight when you’re working in live mode and you’re able to have beams rendering with haze acting molecularly while you’re programming!  It’s called “enhanced mode,” and it’s available with release 22.

Seriously, check this out.  Here’s an image of WYSIWYG with the enhanced mode turned off:
(Click the image for higher res)

Now here’s the same image, with the enhanced beam mode turned on:
(Click the image for higher res)

That is fantastic.  There is also a setting in the “view options” menu choice (right click on the shaded view) to have the haze or atmospheric undulating around the visualization – actually moving like haze moves with the airflow.  It’s the box labeled “Animated” under the “Smoke” category.

You can also now control the brightness of the beam, the footprint that falls on the surface, and the lens flare of the beam, which is an excellent attribute to be able to control!